Resilience through risk management: cooperative insurance in small-holder aquaculture systems

Watson, James R.; Armerin, Fredrik; Klinger, Dane H.; Belton, Ben

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2018.e00799

Cited by 26 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 39 publications

(50 reference statements)

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“…Private sector pre-competitive collaborations; for example, SeaBOS 62 and the Global Salmon Initiative can help to stimulate production improvements at scale. Likewise, government-led initiatives helping small-holders improve their farming practices through, for example, access to high quality feeds, seed and broodstock, are crucial for closing the aquaculture performance gap [63][64][65] . Certification and improvement projects can help to reduce ecosystem impacts 66 , but have been criticized for passive exclusion of small-scale producers.…”

Section: Emissions and Biodiversity Riskmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental performance of blue foods

Gephart

Henriksson

Parker

et al. 2021

Nature

320

177

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Fish and other aquatic foods (blue foods) present an opportunity for more sustainable diets 1,2 . Yet comprehensive comparison has been limited due to sparse inclusion of blue foods in environmental impact studies 3,4 relative to the vast diversity of production 5 . Here we provide standardized estimates of greenhouse gas, nitrogen, phosphorus, freshwater and land stressors for species groups covering nearly three quarters of global production. We find that across all blue foods, farmed bivalves and seaweeds generate the lowest stressors. Capture fisheries predominantly generate greenhouse gas emissions, with small pelagic fishes generating lower emissions than all fed aquaculture, but flatfish and crustaceans generating the highest. Among farmed finfish and crustaceans, silver and bighead carps have the lowest greenhouse gas, nitrogen and phosphorus emissions, but highest water use, while farmed salmon and trout use the least land and water. Finally, we model intervention scenarios and find improving feed conversion ratios reduces stressors across all fed groups, increasing fish yield reduces land and water use by up to half, and optimizing gears reduces capture fishery emissions by more than half for some groups. Collectively, our analysis identifies high-performing blue foods, highlights opportunities to improve environmental performance, advances data-poor environmental assessments, and informs sustainable diets.The food system is a major driver of environmental change, emitting a quarter of all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, occupying half of all ice-free land, and responsible for three quarters of global consumptive water use and eutrophication 3,6 . Yet, it still fails to meet global nutrition needs 7 , with 820 million people lacking sufficient food 8 and with one in three people globally overweight or obese 9 . As a critical source of nutrition 8,10 generating relatively low average environmental pressures 1,2,11,12 , blue foods present an opportunity to improve nutrition with lower environmental burdens, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals to improve nutrition (Goal 2), ensure sustainable consumption and production (Goal 12), and sustainably use marine resources (Goal 14).Blue foods, however, are underrepresented in food system environmental assessments 13 and the stressors considered are limited 4 such that we have some understanding of GHG emissions 14,15 , but less of others such as land or freshwater use 16 . Where blue foods are included, they are typically represented by only one or a few broad categories (see, for example, refs. 3,17,18), masking the vast diversity within blue food production. Finally, estimates combining results of published life cycle assessments undertaken for different purposes, and consequently using incompatible methodologies 19,20 , cannot be compared reliably. It is therefore critical to examine the environmental performance across the diversity of blue foods in a robust, methodologically consistent manner to serve as a benchmark within the rapidly evolving se...

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Section: Emissions and Biodiversity Riskmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental performance of blue foods

Gephart

Henriksson

Parker

et al. 2021

Nature

320

177

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“…Enabling insurance providers and cooperatives could here play important roles in alleviating risk and gaining access to credit and markets among smallholder aquaculture farmers. 117 Cooperatives may also improve the utilization of infrastructure, and thereby reduce overall environmental impacts. 118 Access to shared infrastructure, improved fry, cheaper feeds, and markets could be improved by upscaling production of a limited selection of species.…”

Section: Financial Toolsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interventions for improving the productivity and environmental performance of global aquaculture for future food security

et al. 2021

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Aquatic foods are increasingly being recognized as having an important role to play in an environmentally sustainable and nutritionally sufficient food system. Proposals for increasing aquatic food production often center around species, environments, and ambitious hi-tech solutions that mainly will benefit the 16% of the global population living in high-income countries. Meanwhile, most aquaculture species and systems suffer from large performance gaps, meaning that targeted interventions and investments could significantly boost aquatic food supply and access to nutritious foods without a concomitant increase in environmental footprints. Here we contend that the dialogue around aquatic foods should pay greater attention to identifying and implementing interventions to improve the productivity and environmental performance of low-value commodity species that have been relatively overlooked in this regard to date. We detail a range of available technical and institutional intervention options and evaluate their potential for increasing the output and environmental performance of global aquaculture.

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“…Exponential growth of human population brought about a need to search for additional sources of animal protein and in many countries fish meat actually is main source of such protein [2,3]. Aquaculture is also an important source of income for millions of people [4]. Freshwater aquaculture is growing faster than mariculture and in 2016 freshwater fish comprised about 65 percent of total aquaculture production [1].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The effects of aquaculture facilities on environment depend among others on farming intensity. Aquaculture industry includes small size and low-input farms operated by individual farmers, comprising several ponds, as well as large, highly industrialized farms, requiring high input and operated sometimes by transnational corporations [4][5][6][7]. The intensity of fish production has both economical and ecological implications.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%